About TrackBack
TrackBack maps every FEC-reported dollar we can classify — then links it to voting behavior and registered lobbying. No mock data. No accounts.
What we track
- Committee & PAC contributions (FEC pas2 bulk data)
- Itemized individual donors with employers (FEC indiv)
- Outside super PAC spending for/against candidates (FEC IE)
- 137 registered lobbying organizations via LDA.gov
- LD-203 lobbyist contributions to officials (LDA.gov)
- Small-donor share and outside super PAC spending ratios (FEC)
- Pro-Israel advocacy spenders: UDP, DMFI, NorPAC, AIPAC-affiliated PACs
- Pharma, oil, defense, finance, tech, prisons, tobacco, unions, and more
- Nay votes on donor-aligned legislation (GovTrack roll calls)
Purity Score
A 0–100 measure of how independent a politician is from special interest money. Higher is cleaner.
Base: Base score = 100 minus the percentage of total receipts from non-individual sources (PACs, party committees, transfers) per FEC filings. This is the primary signal — we do not double-penalize the same PAC money twice.
Bonus: Small-donor bonus (+3 to +8) when itemized individual FEC money is a large share of receipts. Voting bonus (+3 to +8) only for Nay votes clearly tied to a top donor industry (GovTrack).
Penalties: LD-203 lobbyist contributions (−3 to −15), outside super PAC spending ratio (−4 to −12), excess PAC dependence, controversial industries, and tracked lobbying org ties (FEC + LDA.gov). Scores cap at 95 unless outside money, LD-203, and lobbying exposure are all minimal.
Lobbying exposure: Additional deduction when a member has many tracked lobbying ties, direct FEC matches to influence groups, or pro-Israel outside spending.
Commitments
TrackBack is and will remain free, open source, and non-commercial. No advertising. No paywall. No paid data access. Ever.
Individual donor names and employers are from public FEC filings (contributions over $200). Per 52 U.S.C. § 30111, this information is displayed for public accountability only — not for solicitation or commercial use. TrackBack does not sell, rent, or use this data to contact donors.
Purity Scores are analytical interpretations of public FEC and GovTrack data — not official government ratings, legal findings, or accusations of corruption.
Data freshness by source
- Member roster: Aug 16, 2026
- FEC campaign finance: Aug 16, 2026
- FEC individual donors: Jun 19, 2026
- GovTrack votes: Aug 16, 2026
- LDA lobbying orgs: Jun 19, 2026
- LD-203 lobbyist contributions: Jun 19, 2026
- STOCK Act PTR trades: Jul 5, 2026
Dataset: 537 current members · FEC 2024 cycle. Refreshed by re-running our public-data sync pipeline — never scraped from private sources.
TrackBack is for educational and accountability purposes. It is not affiliated with the FEC, Congress, or any campaign.